Albert Taylor (15 October 1877 – 1947) was a

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...

trade unionist and political activist. Living in

Bacup Bacup ( , ) is a town in the Rossendale Borough in Lancashire, England, in the South Pennines close to Lancashire's boundaries with West Yorkshire and Greater Manchester. The town is in the Rossendale Valley and the upper Irwell Valley, east ...

, Taylor was a shoemaker, and in 1895 he was a founder member of the

Rossendale Union of Boot, Shoe and Slipper Operatives The Rossendale Union of Boot, Shoe and Slipper Operatives was a trade union representing workers in the footwear trade in the Rossendale area of Lancashire. The union was founded in 1895,University of Warwick Modern Records Centre,Rossendale Uni ...

, and soon became its part-time general secretary, becoming full-time in 1909. He was also a supporter of socialism, joining the

Social Democratic Federation The Social Democratic Federation (SDF) was established as Britain's first organised socialist political party by H. M. Hyndman, and had its first meeting on 7 June 1881. Those joining the SDF included William Morris, George Lansbury, James ...

, and attending the founding conference of the Labour Representation Committee. Taylor opposed

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, and was a

conscientious objector A conscientious objector is an "individual who has claimed the right to refuse to perform military service" on the grounds of freedom of conscience or religion. The term has also been extended to objecting to working for the military–indu ...

, although he served on the Rawtenstall Tribunal until late 1916, when he was removed over the protests of the local labour movement. He was offered an exemption from being called up if he could find work of national importance. He refused to do so, and in January 1917, he was called up. At this time, Taylor was a candidate in the

1917 Rossendale by-election The 1917 Rossendale by-election was a parliamentary by-election held for the British House of Commons constituency of Rossendale on 13 February 1917. Vacancy The by-election was caused by the elevation to the peerage of the sitting Liberal MP, ...

, describing his campaign as "Peace by Negotiation". He was a member of the

British Socialist Party The British Socialist Party (BSP) was a Marxist political organisation established in United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, Great Britain in 1911. Following a protracted period of political faction, factional struggle, in 1916 the party's ...

, but also received the support of the

No Conscription Fellowship The No-Conscription Fellowship was a British pacifism, pacifist organisation which was founded in London by Fenner Brockway, Baron Brockway, Fenner Brockway and Clifford Allen, 1st Baron Allen of Hurtwood, Clifford Allen on 27 November 1914, f ...

, and individuals including

Charles Roden Buxton Charles Roden Buxton (27 November 1875 – 16 December 1942) was an English philanthropist and radical British Liberal Party politician who later joined the Labour Party. He survived an assassination attempt during a mission to the Balkans in ...

, R. C. Wallhead, and J. H. Standring, who acted as his

election agent An election agent is the person legally responsible for the conduct of a candidate's political campaign and to whom election material is sent by those running the election. The term is most used in elections in the United Kingdom, as well as some ...

. He failed to report for duty, and on 30 January, he was arrested, receiving extensive publicity. The ''

Manchester Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

'' stated that "if Mr Taylor had had the arrangement of the time-table himself he could not have managed it more to his own advantage as a candidate". He was sentenced to sixty days in prison, but refused to undertake compulsory work while there, and ultimately served 112 days, the large majority in solitary confinement at

Wormwood Scrubs Wormwood Scrubs, known locally as The Scrubs (or simply Scrubs), is an open space in Old Oak Common located in the north-eastern corner of the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham in west London. It is the largest open space in the borough ...

, surviving on bread and water. He ultimately took 1,804 votes, 23.1% of the total cast. After the war, Taylor's profile as a trade unionist increased. He represented his union at the

Trades Union Congress The Trades Union Congress (TUC) is a national trade union center, national trade union centre, a federation of trade unions that collectively represent most unionised workers in England and Wales. There are 48 affiliated unions with a total of ...

for 26 consecutive years, was elected to the Management Committee of the General Federation of Trade Unions, and was the organisation's president for 1943 and 1944. While president, he argued that a programme of nationalisation would remove a major cause of war. He died in 1947, still in office.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Taylor, Albert 1877 births 1947 deaths British Socialist Party members British anti–World War I activists British conscientious objectors General secretaries of British trade unions Independent British political candidates People from Bacup Presidents of the General Federation of Trade Unions (UK) Social Democratic Federation members